Nokia explores haptic tattoos for phone notifications

On-skin patches give physical nudge.

Nokia has just filed a mobile phone-related patent for on-the-skin patches – or even tattoos – linked to your smartphone and capable of providing haptic feedback. The idea is that you’ll never miss a notification from your mobile.

Detailed over at Unwired View, the patches would be made from a material able to detect a magnetic field and vibrate when alerted. So you could pair them with a device and have give you a haptic nudge when a new text arrives.

The patent also details tattoos using ferromagnetic ink. These would be applied to your skin as per a regular tattoo, but the special ink can, like the patches, detect magnetic fields.

It’s not the first time we’ve heard some odd haptics-related rumours in recent times. Back in January there was talk of Apple using programmable magnets to make the screen on an iPad or other touchscreen device bulge, essentially poking you back and replicating the feel of a real physical button.

A company called Senseg is also behind technology to make tablets feel rough and smooth depending on what's on the screen.

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